Mary H. S. Lazarus

Mary Cho Lazarus was born on January 29, 1918 in Honolulu and died peacefully at home on March 13, 2022 at 6:51 AM.

During her long life, she had many experiences from living through two pandemics, many wars, the Great Depression, as well as personal triumphs and tragedies.

She completed 8th-grade education and then had to go to work to support her family. She first worked at the post laundry and other jobs for the military at Wheeler Field since she was next door to Kunia Camp.

She met her first husband, a Sergeant in the Army, Lyle, through this military connection. They were married on July 25, 1944 at Chapel #2, Wheeler Field.

They welcomed their son Lyle Junior and lived on base until Lyle returned to the mainland. When they divorced, Mary decided to move to town and work as a timekeeper for Honolulu Rapid Transit, a position she held for the next 41+ years.

Initially the family, her parents moved to the city and lived on Roland Lane, which today is the location of the Municipal Building. She then moved with her parents to Pele Street, a 15-minute walk from work. She accepted her role as daughter and sister seriously; one of her jobs being to come home and get dinner on the table within a half hour.

The family eventually moved to Moanalua Gardens in 1959. Meanwhile, although her job remained constant, HRT became MTL, eventually OTS. The company moved to offices on Kapiolani Boulevard, then to City Hall, and finally to Middle Street.

On March 5, 1965, she married Wesley Kamala Lazarus on the island of Kauai at St. Catherine. Her family grew a bit larger with the addition of Grandma Lazarus and two stepchildren, Wesley Jr. and Cecilia “Kauwila.”

She and Wes bought a condo in Harbor Square where they lived until 1989 when she returned to Moanalua to live with her son and mother.

She retired in 1988 and continued to live in Moanalua. Her retirement meant travel times, visiting New Zealand, the Mexican Riviera, Singapore, western Mediterranean, the Black Sea among others. She suffered a stroke in 2010 and was wheelchair-bound, but this didn’t stop her from going out for lunches and visits with her family.

She finally succumbed to failing kidneys and old age.

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